Iraq
__FORCETOC__ Iraq is the real location of Eden, the biblical "garden of God", in Asia. It is first mentioned while searching Gehnen’s dead body in the secret Gnostic shrine inside Santa Cova Chapel in Montserrat, Spain. 'Etymology' Possibly from Sumerian “Uruk” or “Warka” (Biblical “Erech”) region in the south of ancient Iraq. Medieval Arabic uses ‘Iraq’ as a geographical term for the area in the south and center of the modern Iraq. Some Arabic sources say that Iraq comes from عريق (ʕaríːq, “deep-rooted”), from عرق (ʕirq, “root”), while others say it is from Middle Persian's erāq (“lowlands”), due to historic rule from Iraq's plateau-situated neighbor, Persia. 'Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse' Thanks to Pearl’s help, George and Nico are able to discover a hidden cave inside Santa Cova Chapel in Montserrat, Spain. As George finds a possible source of light near a far wall, he lights a match and throws it inside. The entire cavern illuminates and the first thing that strikes their eyes is a dead body lying a few steps from George. They appears to be Gehnen’s remains who upon seeing he was trapped in a cave with no apparent way out, decided to commit suicide by blowing his brains out. Near his body, an old black and white photograph is seen. The picture shows an ancient clay tablet with handwritten notes in it. Someone, presumably Gehnen, has taken the time to translate the inscription. At a glance the inscription seems to relate to the exploits of someone called the Sun King ''See letter a) in item 3 below.. Tucked under Gehnen's desiccated arm is an old map. It had writing on it. I prised the map out of under the arm of the corpse. It looked like Gehnen had scrawled some kind of last testament onto this map"My friends, I know that you will eventually find me, but then it will be too late. I have decoded the tabula and I know our destiny lies in Paradise. The key to the power of God is in our hands. I die secure in the knowledge that you will now be able to complete my work. Tell my family that I died doing my duty - that I surrender my life gladly to the cause. In the light of the day these worlds will fade like our souls. But rest assured that when they do their echoes will guide us to where we will meet once again.”. It looks like crafty old Gehnen left a secret message in his testament. When I held the map up to the flame, something started to change. The writing on the map starts to react to the heat. At a guess the locations on the map might match up with the ones he's marked on his photograph. According to the translation on the photograph, some guy called the Sun King once had the Tabula Veritatis in his possession. The symbols on the tablet look similar to the ones etched into the face of the Tabula Veritatis. On the map: a) if this letter matches the one on Gehnen's translation, this must be the location of the "Sun City". d) This must be Sunset Mountain. e) Young Cities. b) Mountain Kingdom. c) Three rivers regionLocations seen on Gehnen’s map translated into real history facts (Assumptions):. After deciphering the Tabula Veritatis’ markings, George and Nico learn that the artifact is in fact a set of directions that lead to “the source of four rivers”. With Marqués’ help, an exact location is mentioned, “Eden”. 'Quotes' *Nico: “Do you think it' really Eden?” : George: “Well, if you see any apples... think twice before you eat 'em.” 'Trivia' :*a) '''Sun city': “Hittites Empire”, ancient Anatolian people who established an empire at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia around 1600 BCE. This empire reached its height during the mid-14th century BCE under Suppiluliuma I, when it encompassed an area that included most of Asia Minor as well as parts of the northern Levant and Upper Mesopotamia. During the Hittite Empire period the kingship became hereditary and the king took on a "superhuman aura" and began to be referred to by the Hittite citizens as "My Sun". According to Gehnen’s discoveries, the Tabula Veritatis was in the possession of the “Sun king” which might indicate that this king is Suppiluliuma I. Source :*b) Mountain Kingdom: “Zagros Mountains”, largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. During early ancient times, the Zagros was the home of peoples such as the Kassites, Guti, Assyrians, Elamites and Mitanni, who periodically invaded the Sumerian and/or Akkadian cities of Mesopotamia. The mountains create a geographic barrier between the flatlands of Mesopotamia, which is in Iraq, and the Iranian plateau. A small archive of clay tablets detailing the complex interactions of these groups in the early second millennium BC has been found at Tell Shemshara along the Little Zab. Source :*c) Three rivers region '''(Four rivers): “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.” (Genesis 2:10-14 KJV). Source :*d) '''Sunset Mountain: Mount Mashu, described in the Epic of Gilgamesh as “the Twin Mountains which guard the sun at sunrise and sunset and support the heavens.” The corresponding location in reality has been the topic of speculation, as no confirming evidence has been found. Jeffrey H. Tigay also suggests that in the earlier Akkadian version it is "explicitly located in the north west, in or near the Cedar Forest of Lebanon". Source :*'Caspian Sea': is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The ancient inhabitants of its coast perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness and seeming boundlessness. Source :*'Susiana' (or Seleucia): ancient city on the Hedyphon (now, Jarahi) river in Susiana (earlier Elam), east of Mesopotamia, currently the site of Ja Nishin, Khuzestan Province, Iran. Source :*'Chaldea': was a nation extant between the 10th and 6th centuries BC, located in the marshy land of the far south eastern corner of Mesopotamia which came to rule Babylon briefly. Source :*'Babylon': The remains of the city are found in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (53 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient famed city of Babylon today is a large mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city itself was built upon the Euphrates, and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Source :*'Cuthah': a Sumero-Akkadian and Babylonian holy and cult city; the present-day Tell Ibrāhīm, N.E. of Babylon. The Sumerian (or pre-Sumerian) name for Cuthah is Gudua, and the Akkadian (from which the biblical name was derived) is Kutû. In the Bible (II Kings 17:24, 30) Cuthah figures as one of the cities from which the king of Assyria brought colonists to the province of Samaria. Source :*'Media': region of north-western Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Medes, and other ancient Iranian people. During the Achaemenid period, it comprised Azarbaijan, Iranian Kurdistan and western Tabaristan. However, after the wars of Alexander the Great, the northern parts were separated and became known as Atropatene, while the remaining region became known as Lesser Media (minor). Source 'Gallery' ' Santa Cova 5.png|Photography of the ancient clay tablet. Santa Cova 6.png|Gehnen's last testament. (hidden map) Eden 3.png|Eden, "the source of four rivers". ' Category:Iraq, Asia Category:Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse Category:Location Category:Country Category:City